Giving to God - Tithe

Giving to God means giving ourselves completely, entirely and totally to God. It means giving back to God what he has given to us. It means sharing in his generosity, his magnanimity and his grandiosity. We give to God in three ways. We give of our time, our talent and our treasure. Does this sound too much? I doubt it!

So what is tithe? Giving in tithe means giving of a tenth of one’s earning to God. This precept is biblical. All the children of Israel are exhorted to reciprocate God’s generosity. Moses makes offering the foundation of a believer’s faith. It states, “Every year separate the tenth part from the yield of what you have sown in your fields. In the presence of Yahweh, in the place he has chosen as the dwelling place for his Name, you shall eat the tithe of your wheat, your oil and your wine, and the firstlings of your herd and flock that you may learn to honor Yahweh, your God, all the days of your life. The journey may be too long for you to bring those tithes to the place Yahweh has chosen as a dwelling place for his name. In that case, when Yahweh your God, blesses you, exchange them all for money. Take the money in your hand and go to the place chosen by Yahweh. There you shall buy whatever you like – oxen or sheep, or wine or strong drink – anything you like. And there you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh, and shall rejoice – you and your household. And do not forget the Levite who dwells in your cities, since he has nothing of his own and no inheritance as you have. Every three years, separate, the tithes of all the years harvest but store them in the city. Then the Levite among you, who has no inheritance of his own, and the foreigner, the orphan and the widow who live in your cities may come and eat, and be satisfied. So Yahweh will bless all the works of your hands, all that you undertake.” This therefore is the Law of Moses and it is the foundation of the Law of tithe offering” (Deut.14:22-29).

Psalm 37 stresses that “The just one has compassion, he gives and lends; and in the end, he owns the land while the unjust one borrows and does not repay and in the end, he is thrown out of the land”. The person who knows how to give does not squander: he is content with what he has and lacks nothing, while one who refuses to give never has enough and never feels happy, (Prov. 11:24).

The law of tithing is as old as the Old Testament of the Bible. In Genesis 14:20, we hear these words, “And Abraham gave him a tenth part of everything.” It will be interesting to read the full story in the Book of Genesis 14:14-24. Here we note that the gift was given to Melchizedek who was a priest of the Most High God. When Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth part of everything, Abraham went away richer with the joy of having heard from the lips of this stranger, words which confirmed God’s blessing on him. Moreover, when Jacob had a dream he exclaimed, “This stone which I have set up will be God’s house, and of all that you give me. I will give back a tent” (Gen. 28:10-22).

When we give to God, we acknowledge that our blessing comes from God and in giving back to God we share in his generosity. Prophet Malachi, on the other hand, attributes the misfortune of people to the fact that they are not offering God his due. Once they offer their gift freely to God, he will open up the treasure of his blessing on the house of Jacob. He did not mince words when he addressed the children of Israel in their obligation to give their tithe to God. “Surely I, the Lord, do not change, nor do you cease to be sons of Jacob. Since the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Yet you say, “How must we return?” Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, “How do we rob you?” In tithes and in offerings! You are indeed accursed, for you, the whole nation; rob me. Bring the whole tithe into the store house, that there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure” (Malachi 3:6-10).

Jesus Christ talks a lot about giving a tithe but he also called on us not to neglect the more serious act of justice, love and mercy. “A cures is on you, Pharisees; for the Temples you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. This ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other” (Lk. 11:42). The greatest gift we can ever give to God is the gift of ourselves. We must therefore present ourselves to God every Sunday if we cannot do it everyday.